Happy Holidays from GK

Featured Events

Wednesday, November 4

Reinventing the Automobile: Personal Urban Mobility for the 21st Century
Speakers: Larry Burns, Former Vice President of Research & Development, General Motors; Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University
Time: 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Schapiro CEPSR Building, Davis Auditorium
Contact: Carey Russell, crussell@ei.columbia.edu or call 2128510241
RSVP: Register

Thursday, November 5

Earth Institute Seminars on Sustainable Development - Focus on Climate: Managing Carbon
Speakers: Ruth DeFries, Denning Family Professor of Sustainable Development; Columbia University; Klaus Lackner, Director, Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy, The Earth Institute, Columbia University
Time: 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, Faculty House, Garden Room 1, First Floor
Contact: Betsy Ness-Edelstein, en2109@columbia.edu
RSVP: Register
Web Site: http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2552

This Week’s Events

Wednesday, November 4

Columbia Water Center Seminar: Mercury Methylation in Biofilms and Rapid Detection of Microbial Pollution in Water - Two Issues Relevant to Public Health Worldwide
Speaker: Jennifer A. Jay, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California at Los Angeles
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, 924 Seeley W. Mudd Building
Contact: Samantha Tress, st2424@columbia.edu
RSVP: Register
Web Site: http://water.columbia.edu

CERC Information Session: Evening Certificate in Conservation Biology
Speaker: Desmond Beirne, Program Associate, Evening Certificate Program in Conservation Biology, Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC)
Time: 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, Schermerhorn Extension, Room 1015
Contact: Desmond Beirne, djb2104@columbia.edu or call (212) 854-0149
Web Site: http://www.cerc.columbia.edu

LDEO MG&G and SG&T Seminar Series: The Effects of Data Quality in Travel-Time Tomography - Application to the Alpine Region
Speaker: Tobias Diehl, Post-Doctoral Research Scientist, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, The Earth Institute, Columbia University
Time: 12:10 to 1:10 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Marine Biology/Seismology Building, Seminar Room, 2nd Floor
Contact: Eunseo Choi, echoi@ldeo.columbia.edu or call (845) 365-8813

Reinventing the Automobile: Personal Urban Mobility for the 21st Century
Speakers: Larry Burns, Former Vice President of Research & Development, General Motors; Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University
Time: 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Schapiro CEPSR Building, Davis Auditorium
Contact: Carey Russell, crussell@ei.columbia.edu or call 2128510241
RSVP: Register

From Thursday, November 5 through Friday, November 6

Fourth Columbia International Investment Conference: Foreign Direct Investment - The Global Crisis and Sustainable Recovery
Speakers: Lee C. Bollinger, President, Columbia University; Meg Kinnear, Secretary-General, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID); Karin Lissakers, Director, Revenue Watch Institute; Robert Orr, Assistant Secretary-General, Strategic Planning Unit, Executive Office of the Secretary-General, United Nations; Jeffrey D. Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University; Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, Columbia University; Manfred Schekulin, Chairperson, OECD Investment Committee; Joseph E. Stiglitz, University Professor, Columbia University; Kari Tapiola, Executive Director, International Labour Organization
Time: All Day Event
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, Columbia Law School, Jerome L. Greene Hall, 435 West 116th Street at Amsterdam Avenue, Registration - Lobby Level, Conference - Mezzanine Level, Drapkin Lounge
Contact: Lisa Sachs, lsachs1@law.columbia.edu
Web Site: http://vcc.columbia.edu/events/

Thursday, November 5

Earth Institute Seminars on Sustainable Development - Focus on Climate: Managing Carbon
Speakers: Ruth DeFries, Denning Family Professor of Sustainable Development; Columbia University; Klaus Lackner, Director, Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy, The Earth Institute, Columbia University
Time: 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, Faculty House, Garden Room 1, First Floor
Contact: Betsy Ness-Edelstein, en2109@columbia.edu
RSVP: Register
Web Site: http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2552

Friday, November 6

Columbia Water Center Seminar Series: Complexity and Emergence in Ecohydrologic Process Networks
Speaker: Praveen Kumar, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Time: 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, 833 Seeley W. Mudd Building
Contact: Samantha Tress, st2424@columbia.edu
RSVP: Register
Web Site: http://water.columbia.edu

LDEO Earth Science Colloquium: Why Scientists Are The Greatest People In This Or Any Other Universe and Why They Should Tell People About it?
Speaker: Claudia Dreifus, The New York Times
Time: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Location: Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Monell Building Auditorium
Contact: Scott Nooner, snooner@ldeo.columbia.edu
Web Site: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news-events/earth-science-colloquium/2009-2010

I am writing to alert you to efforts underway this morning to zero out a large portion of the science funding from the Senate American Reinvestment and Recovery Act as a part of a $77.9B reduction effort led by Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Susan Collins (R-ME).

As you know better than most, science and technology are responsible for half of the economic development of the United States since WWII and yet, if current trends hold, some, such as the Business Round table, have predicted that 90% of all scientists and engineers will live in Asia within 5 years.

The United States simply MUST renew our investment in the single greatest economic engine this country has ever known. Small federal investments in scientific research have helped produce things like the internet and the transistor that have consistently delivered multi-trillion dollar economies.

The United States is at a critical juncture, and if this concerns you we suggest now would be a time to contact your Senators and urge them to support science funding. Here is what is being proposed to be cut from the bill, according to TPM:

NASA exploration $750,000,000 = 50%

NSF $1,402,000,000 = 100%

NOAA $427,000,000 = 34.94%

NIST $218,000,000 = 37.91%

DOE energy efficiency & renewable energy $1,000,000,000 = 38% DOE office of science $100,000,000 = 100%

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/Collins-Nelson-Cuts/?resultpage=1&

The Gaming Krib

http://www.gamingkrib.org

 PRIMING THE STUDENT LEARNING PUMP http://snipurl.com/km_learningpump

 http://snipurl.com/ms_global

Schools and teachers focusing on the 21st century skill of “global awareness will appreciate this top-quality content. See for example this recent lesson plan for grades 7-12: “Negotiate Peace for India and Pakistan,” which includes standards, cross-curricular activities, and links to literature.

http://snipurl.com/world_lessonplans

http://snipurl.com/mlleader_advisory

GAME-MAKING WITH “SPLODER”

http://snipurl.com/spoder_gaming

http://scratch.mit.edu/pages/educators

ONLINE WORKSHOP: TEACHING THE ARTS

http://snipurl.com/annenberg_artspd

Although the video content features high school students, the principles of good arts teaching put forth in this eight-part series from Annenberg Media apply equally to the middle grades. The content covers visual arts, music, theatre and dance and “is intended for use by mixed groups of teachers from all four arts disciplines, to help them improve their practice.” The first program introduces seven principles of effective teaching; then each principle is explored in depth in a subsequent program. This link leads to a website that includes the video programs, other interactive materials, and a downloadable guide. No-cost registration.

SCIENCE & SOCIETY: EXPLORING YOUR OWN DNA

http://snipurl.com/nytln_redesign

http://snipurl.com/nytln_dnatest

HELPING NET-KIDS LEARN TO MANAGE INFORMATION

http://snipurl.com/bf_managinginfo

– “probably the most important 21st Century skill to teach to our kids.” See how Bill and his colleagues are using these tools to help students discern media bias in Election 2008. ALSO: For another interesting view of transformative web tools, read how a wiki has revitalized a science teacher’s classroom and her teaching:

http://snipurl.com/wikiteacher

FASHION RULES IN GIRLS’ FICTION

http://snipurl.com/nyt_girlsfiction

writes: “As others have, Dr. Johnson questions the female characters’

preoccupation with looks, thinness, fashion, makeup, wealth — we’re talking spoiled, rich middle-school girls from Westchester County.

But what grabbed me as new was her documentation of what she called the ‘incessant litany of brand names.’”

GET PRACTICAL STEPS FOR CHOOSING AND USING FICTION IN THE CLASSROOM

THE NOVEL EXPERIENCE is a handy 32-page flipchart that helps middle-level teachers and students organize a novel program, choose books that match interests & abilities, foster comprehension, process information, and share responses. Includes over 100 book suggestions; only $11. Click here for details:

http://www.stenhouse.com/8200.asp?r=mw081002

SPECIAL RESOURCES FOR NEW TEACHERS

http://snipurl.com/NewTeacherResources

Links to a series of Teacher Magazine’s Teaching Secrets articles; ideas for creating a positive and engaging classroom environment, and one middle grade teacher’s practical advice on developing the “Organized Middle Schooler.” Check back often.

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Michael Vitelli - CEO | http://www.gamingkrib.com mvitelli@gamingkrib.com 727-947-7005 Reinventing Learning in the Digital World

PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG URBAN M.S. TEACHER
http://snipurl.com/young_urban_tchr

English teacher Ariel Sacks began her career five years ago, after completing a residency program at New York City’s Bank Street College. After a three-year stint in Harlem, Sacks is beginning her second year in a public academy school in Brooklyn. In this essay she reflects on the supports, experiences and strategies that give her the ability to continue teaching in the inner city. Novice teachers will appreciate Sacks’ description of her classroom organization and management structure. “Not only is this structure practical,” she writes, “it also teaches students to be part of a group, to make decisions for themselves and reflect on them, and to begin to take responsibility for the well-being of the class.”

CONFRONTING THE PLAGIARISM PLAGUE
http://snipurl.com/plagiarism-plague

English teacher Kim Bochicchio was distressed to learn that graduates of her school system had a reputation for plagiarism among local colleges. Read this June 2008 story from Edutopia magazine to learn what Bochicchio did to address the issue in her own classroom. “The battle lines (were) drawn, but I waged my war against plagiarism, determined that, for my students’ sake, I would not — could not — lose.”
 
GET STARTED WITH CLASSROOM BLOGGING
http://snipurl.com/class_blogging

Gresham Brown teaches the upper elementary grades, but his advice at the Stenhouse Blog about getting starting with classroom blogging will be helpful to any teacher in grades 4-8 who has wondered whether this particular form of 21st century communication can really serve to advance student learning. Among the pluses Brown cites are writing and thinking-skills development, student engagement, and parent involvement. Brown describes the steps he took to create his blog, gain the necessary buy-in, and assure safety. You can leave questions for him in the Comments section.

DEALING WITH DIFFICULT COLLEAGUES
http://snipurl.com/jb_difficultcolleage

Jane Bluestein, well-known PD presenter and author of helpful books like “The Win-Win Classroom” (Corwin, 2007), offers an essay that can not only help you analyze colleagial conflict but learn ways to get important work accomplished despite personality differences. While you’re visiting Bluestein’s website, explore the articles and handouts she’s specifically tagged as useful to middle grades educators:
http://snipurl.com/ms_bluestein
LOST IN EIGHTH GRADE ALGEBRA?
http://snipurl.com/brookings_algebra

Since the 1990s, we’ve seen a major push to involve more middle schoolers in algebra by eighth grade. Nearly a third of all eighth graders took algebra in 2007, more than any other math course. But a new study from the Brookings Institution, using fine-grained data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, contends that large numbers of middle-schoolers are now struggling in advanced math classes. Reason? They are “woefully unprepared” due to weak basic math skills. In an Ed Week article, some supporters of early algebra question aspects of the study. The research, some note, does not question whether most students can succeed in 8th grade algebra, only that “schools need to recommit to preparing them.”
http://snipurl.com/ew_algebra
NASA DIGITAL LEARNING NETWORK
http://snipurl.com/nasa_digitallearn

Keep up with NASA’S latest education resources and activities at the Digital Learning Network website, which emphasizes STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) content aligned to national standards. DLN offers a variety of distance learning events for teachers and students designed to educate through demonstrations and real time interactions with experts. In an upcoming live online PD workshop (1 hr., Oct 29) teachers can learn more about NASA’s Lunar Nautics “field trip to the Moon” — a student focused simulation to design, test, analyze and create the budget for a lunar mission from initial concept to conclusion. The program includes 30 inquiry-based activities in which students create solar ovens, microgravity sleds, edible spacecraft, and more.

TIMELY BLOGS FOR MUSIC EDUCATORS
http://snipurl.com/nf_music_carnival

Here’s a great way for music teachers to find kindred spirits in the blogging world. Our friend Nancy Flanagan, who spent most of her 30-year career teaching music in the middle grades, keeps an excellent blog called Teacher in a Strange Land. Nancy recently hosted the Carnival of Music Education, a new monthly round-up of blog postings by musically minded educators. At Nancy’s Carnival post, you can link to a dozen other blogs and find out how to get your blog mentioned in the next Carnival. Don’t have a blog? Time to tune up!

ELECTION SITES FOR KIDS
http://snipurl.com/snwk_elections

Barbara Feldman, author of the popular feature Surfing the Net with Kids, selects four 5-star websites that can help students learn more about the election process and actually participate in a national mock election sponsored by the League of Women Voters. There’s even an interactive map students can use to track election results by state.

THE NEW YORK TIMES TEACHER VOICES PROJECT
http://snipurl.com/nyt_tchr_essays

Alaskan Doug Noon is one of several middle grades teachers selected by the Times to describe the experiences of real teachers to a national audience. In the NYT’s LESSON PLANS project, a group of classroom educators chronicle their experiences during the first weeks of school, “offering first hand accounts of today’s classroom challenges from diverse perspectives,” at a time when “the act of teaching has never been more complicated.” Noon’s posts thus far have emphasized the importance of community, wonder and direct experience of the world. Joseph Santani, a Deaf seventh grade teacher in Manhattan, writes about the challenges of teaching in English and American Sign Language. Highly recommended.

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GET STUDENTS UP, INVOLVED, AND PRODUCTIVE!

3-MINUTE MOTIVATORS is a collection of over 100 simple, fun activities that will help you use “a little magic” to take a quick break, engage students, and refocus them on the task at hand. Browse Chapter 1 online:
http://www.stenhouse.com/8215.asp?r=mw080904
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http://snipurl.com/NewTeacherResources

We continue to add new resources to our special page for teachers who are just beginning their classroom careers. Among recent additions: A link to Teacher Magazine’s Teaching Secrets (including “How to Smile Before Christmas”) and Ask the Mentor pages. Plus the U.S. Department of Education’s helpful guide “What to Expect Your First Year of Teaching,” ideas for content areas, and lots of tips from experts.
 
http://www.gamingkrib.com - Reinventing L-EARN-ing in the Digital World
Check back often.

http://www.gamingkrib.com/

“Who would have thought that the subject of homework would turn out to be our site’s most read feature? Good stuff! But methinks we need less heat and more light.
Let’s start with some hard data. MetLife devoted its major annual report on teachers and the teaching life last year to homework. Here is what they found:
Most teachers, students, and parents believe in the value of homework:
Eight in ten teachers (83%) believe that doing homework is important or very important.
Eight in ten parents (81%) believe that doing homework is important or very important.
Three-quarters of students (77%) believe that doing homework is important or very important.
However, sizable numbers of students say that their homework is not relevant to their current schoolwork or their future goals.
One-quarter of students (26%) agree that their homework is busywork and not related to what they are learning in schools.
Over half of students (55%) do not think that their homework assignments are interesting. Secondary school students, in particular, hold this view (62% vs. 44% of elementary school students).
Four in ten parents (40%) say that a great deal (9%) or some (31%) of the homework assigned at their child’s school is just busywork.
While three quarters of teachers with more than 20 years of experience
feel extremely or very prepared to create engaging homework assignments, only 58% of new teachers (5 years or less experience) feel this way.
The full report can be found here.
http://www.metlife.com/WPSAssets/10124301191202765628V1FTeacherSurvey…
An NPR report on the survey can be found here.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19055522
Clearly, when about half of our parents and students think that homework is really busywork or uninteresting and unhelpful, we have a problem. Even a sizable minority of teachers think that, in general,
there is too much busywork assigned (though not in my class, of course!). In theory though, everyone agrees that homework is important.

So, the debate about whether to assign or not to assign homework begs a crucial question: What is the point of homework, done right? Or is the belief in the importance of homework in theory a piece of wistful
nonthinking?

Sorely absent from the discussion is a consideration of the concept itself – what is homework and what is its purpose? When we argue for reinforcement or extension of learning, what are we calling for – and
what right do we have to call for it?

But let’s start with simpler questions. Note that there are three venues of work – in class, outside of class but still in school, and outside of school. So, every teacher and administrator should ponder
often and clarify with parents and students the three questions:
What is the optimal use of our limited time together in class? What work is best done in class?
What is the best use of time out of class (but still in school) in support of one’s education, and the goals of individual courses? What worthy course goals can only be met by assigning work out of class but
in school (such as library research or project work in free periods)? What assignments outside of school greatly help learners meet key course and program goals (even as we are mindful of the student’s
right to a life outside of school)? I admit to being prejudiced. As a former high school English teacher I
simply cannot imagine an education that does not require students to read and write outside of class, so that great discussion and coaching can occur in class. I am flabbergasted to go into some high school
classes and see teachers and students reading texts aloud in place of homework – what a waste of time. Nor can I fathom an education – as I have seen in many places – that does not assign homework in high
school because kids just won’t do it. That sets those kids up for failure later; it is abdicating our professional responsibility.
Here are the things I think we can all agree on, regardless of our place in the system:
The best use of class time is not mostly teacher talk or one-way worksheets and activities, but vital opportunities for students to try to learn and get coaching and feedback from teacher and peers. In a
world of ipods and Internet, using precious class time for teacher talk is nuts. Mere busywork is unacceptable. Homework should explicitly help students meet key unit and course goals, and should be
justified in writing as such on course syllabi. Mere piling on of more work after school is unwise and ultimately counter-productive. The student has a right to down time, family time, social time.
Homework should rarely involve the student trying to learn new things on her own (without anyone to help) but should be needed reinforcement or practice in already-understood lessons, or quiet, reflective work
best done on one’s own (like reading and writing).
Outside reading, especially in upper-level courses, is a vital component of a good education, and essential preparation for college and adult life.
Excellence in research and in writing can only occur if upper-level students are asked to write papers outside of class. From this vantage point, the disputes in this lively set of blog entries perhaps obscure the areas of agreement that exist under the surface. And so, what we must do is act professionally: faculty should engage in formal fact-finding and discussion, culminating in clear and enforced policy at the local level, about homework done right. To allow each teacher to free-lance homework policy, as we do now, is a
recipe for failure and frustration, as the research and common sense make clear.”  Grant Wiggins

It takes a Village!